"I've always been a competitor," said New Orleans (La.) Edna Carr cornerback Noel Ellis, who committed to Texas A&M earlier this month. "I'd like to be in a competitive conference -- and this is the most competitive conference."

The most remarkable thing about the SEC's domination of this event is how much of the league is represented.

For example, 10 participants in the Challenge have committed to Pac-12 schools, but eight of them chose USC. Four of the eight Big Ten commitments here this weekend picked Michigan. All eight of the Challenge participants committed to Big 12 schools chose either Texas or Oklahoma.

Of course, those committed recruits picked a particular school and not a conference. But many of them said conference affiliation played a major role in their decisions.

"It had to be an SEC school," said Crescent City (Fla.) defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, who committed to Florida in January. "I want to play at the highest level. Basically, I feel if I play in the SEC, I have a shot at the NFL. If I ball out, I can be a first-rounder. Plus, it gets you ready for the NFL because you're playing the next-best thing."

One notable element of the SEC's 2013 recruiting thus far is that it has landed some notable players from well outside its home base. Rivals100 quarterback Cooper Bateman of Salt Lake City (Utah) Cottonwood announced he would enroll at Alabama. LSU received a commitment from Rivals100 quarterback Hayden Rettig of Los Angeles (Calf.) Cathedral.

Neither of those quarterbacks are in Atlanta this weekend. The SEC's Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge contingent instead features southern players who grew up cheering for SEC schools.

Howard is one obvious example. He rooted for Auburn as a kid before ultimately deciding he felt more comfortable at Alabama.

"I grew up watching a lot of football and basically a lot of Auburn, Alabama games," Howard said. "Those guys were tough in the SEC. I watched a lot of other conferences, and they were good and everything, but I felt the SEC was more dominant. You want to play in a conference like that, that gets you ready for the next level."

Batesville (Miss.) South Panola offensive guard Deon Mix also knew immediately he didn't want to play anywhere else. Mix grew up an Alabama fan but committed to Mississippi State.

"It's just the physicality, the way they play and the way the fans are in the SEC," Mix said. "There's nothing like it. I love the SEC."

Now all these guys get a brief jump start on their SEC careers. These next two days will give them an up-close look at many of their future conference rivals.

By the end of the weekend, they'll have a better idea of what aspects of their game they need to improve before they start their college careers.

"It's going to be an opportunity for me to get better," Mix said. "I think it will really make me better, so I know what I need to look for when I'm in college."

Mix is just one of many participants who rank among the nation's best players in their class.

So it's only natural that many of these prospects are headed to the nation's best conference.